


The Tree of Life

by 4captains



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Drabble, Fan Service, M/M, Post Mission, Stephen is a great guy, Tony is in love, Trans Peter Parker, Transgender, a trans guy's dream, peter's life is changed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 22:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20415388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4captains/pseuds/4captains
Summary: In a post-mission meeting, Peter finds out Loki is genderfluid and asks a lot of questions. Stephen decides now is the moment, and everyone is surprised...especially Peter.





	The Tree of Life

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey hey! I was having trouble getting motivated with my longer fics so wrote a quick thing. This is dedicated to a few facebook pages based on Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, and Peter Parker. Also, normally I'm Pepper/Tony only but I've got a soft spot for Stephen and Tony! Hope you all enjoy!

"Just tell her you got an internship and that you'll be home in a few days." Clint commented, waving his hand dismissively. He had tons of excuses regarding injuries if anyone needed them. "Then you fake falling down some stairs. Bruce'll sign for your internship."

It was after the latest mission; a fairly simple thing with all hands on deck, and now they were here to debrief. Peter had just arrived with his arm in a sling; it was a bad sprain, and wouldn’t need a cast.

Bruce nodded "I’ll take care of it. Tell May you were here, and that you stayed because it was safest with the Hudson being swarmed. It's the easiest way to explain the situation. We'll go over the arm when we have an opportunity."

Peter nodded and sent May a text that he'd been at Stark Industries when the creatures crawled out of the river, that he’d stayed for his safety, and that he was safe. He'd video chat her later, as he already knew that she was okay thanks to Mr. Stark.

Tony himself glanced over at Peter and the lines around his eyes tightened. He hated seeing the poor kid injured. In fact, Tony was tempted to go to the holding area and handle exactly who had done it. But he didn’t. "Now" said Tony in a calm voice, forcing everyone to move on. "We need to discuss press and cleanup."

"I mean, none of us made a press conference saying our identity." Clint snorted, watching Tony. 

Stephen Strange just kind of stared at from the archer to his partner. For a genius, Tony wasn't very smart. Of the lot of them, Tony was the one you couldn't just figure out since he constantly had a helmet on...so why had he given up his cover?

Tony held up his free hand. "Look, if it takes the bullet off other peoples' back, it helped. And it did. Kinda." He shrugged his shoulder. "I'll do the press release and coordinate all efforts. I'll also donate money to help the clean-up and make sure that everyone is compensated and has correct safety gear. But some of the older city workers...I’m not involving them. How long can you burn the candle at both ends before you completely lose it?"

Everyone was looking at him with AMUSEMENT and he glanced around. "What?" he asked defensively.

"I believe they have noted that you tend to overwork yourself." Loki said, rolling his eyes.

"You do tend to work a lot." Natasha pointed out. "You may not have been at it as long as some of those workers have, but you'll get there at one point. Unless your new boyfriend stops you."

"Boyfriend?" Tony blinked and glanced at Strange, raising his eyebrows "He probably could stop me, but I'd like it if he didn't." He prodded Stephen in the chest. "Look, there's work to do. I can't just stop, and even if I did...Pepper doesn't really hesitate in calling me from my little relaxation sessions."

Pepper rolled his eyes. "Relaxing doesn't mean taking it up the ass, Tony." She said it so bluntly and matter-of-factly that even Tony looked stunned.

"I can assure you he took it more places than that," Loki said easily and Thor bonks his hand in the table and burst out laughing. He'd have made a toast for his brother had he had a drink. 

Even Doctor Strange went a little red. “This is really nobody’s business,” he said in a calm voice.

Peter was blushing like mad at the idea. He had no idea Mr. Stark was gay. But he was excited about that, and, well, about a lot of things. "I didn't know you liked men." Peter had big eyes. 

"Are we going to speak about this? Because we would rather leave." Wanda cut them short. She didn't want to hear about this. Pietro nodded quickly.

Tony ignored Wanda and said "Men and women, kid, and everyone in between. I don't discriminate. Sorcerer Supremes are alright too, when you get used to 'em" He jerked a thumb at Strange. Tony knew Peter was trans, but some things were sacred, and he wasn't going to out the kid. "Most of us aren't straight. A few of us aren't cisgender either." He didn't indicate Loki, but Loki's literal genderfluidity was well known by most of them here.

Loki looked a little confused over at Thor, as if trying to figure out what Tony meant by cisgender because they didn't really... have the word. 

Thor leaned over the table and in the most absolutely terrible attempt to whisper ever, explained, "You can change between man and woman at will, so you're not cisgender."

Peter looked at Loki curiously, trying to hide his excitement, but doing a crappy job on it with the pain medications he was on.

Tony elbowed Loki gently and muttered in his ear, low enough that only the trickster god could hear "I was born a guy, and I am a guy, so I'm cisgender. If I was born a guy, and wanted to be a girl, I'd be transgender. Genderfluid people aren't cisgender." He patted Loki's arm.

Pepper commented "I don't think there's a heterosexual and cisgender person among us. And that is completely okay." She didn't look specifically at anyone, but hoped Peter got the message. 

Peter was looking at Loki in awe and went to sit right beside him. "Are you...trans?" he asked curiously, his features full of hope.

"In a sense... I assume?" He said with surprising uncertainty. Then blue takes over his skin, his eyes going red and his entire being is radiating cold. Literally cold, as frost formed around him "This is how I was born." Then back to himself. "This is who I grew up to be." Then another change, putting him in a skintight dress, turning himself into a woman with a flowing shape. "This is me as a woman." Another turn of magic and he sat on the chair as a cat, mewing demonstratively. Finally. he got back to himself. "This is how I am comfortable." 

Clint, Wanda and Pietro were all staring. Thor clapped his hands eagerly. "When we were children, he would turn into a snake, for he knows I love snakes. Then as I picked him up, he would turn back to himself and go blargh! It's me! And stab me!" He says excitedly. 

Loki smiled at that and nodded. It was all true. "The first time it was amusing, but the five other times you could have thought to learn."

Tony held Strange’s hand under the table. Both men had an admiration for Loki’s skills.

Peter's eyes were wide. "THAT'S SO COOL!" he burst out. "You have blue skin? That's awesome! I always wished I had cool skin like that. No pun intended. Do you have ice powers? Can you make ice slides? Ooooh! Could you fix global warming? And the red eyes! Did you know that in ancient times, red eyes were an indicator of power and strength?" he crinkled his nose "People think they're so evil these days, but I think they're neat! Lots of creatures have red eyes that are really really cool! You stabbed your brother? WOAH! It must not've done much damage if he lived through it six times. Oh oh!" More questions. More comments. More praise for how cool Loki was. "What happens when you turn into an animal? Do you get their instincts at all? Like, when you're a dog, do you want to chase tennis balls?" He was practically bouncing. "I wish I could change what I looked like, things'd be so much easier!"

Loki was practically bombarded by questions and they didn't seem to have an end. At some point, he was concerned Peter would pass out from it. Stephen took a deep breath, and beckoned to Peter. “Come here for a moment” he said calmly.

Peter turned and approached Strange, looking at the doctor curiously. “S-Sorry, I know I talk a lot, I-”

But Stephen made a little motion with his hand, a look of great focus on his face. It took a moment, but he’d practiced a lot...and within a short time, the spell changed the boy’s body. It was a spell that wouldn't last on its own. Stephen pulled an amulet of a tree off his neck and hung it around Peter's. Another wave, and locks the spell to it. "Keep it on.... and breathe.” Because Peter looked like he might pass out.

Peter froze. He stared at Stephen, and the color drained from his face. He was pale as a ghost, and his good hand dropped to his chest. Everyone was silent. The world seemed to go absolutely still around Peter and the tears started, falling thick and fast. He sank to the floor, and quickly pulled off his shirt, minding his damaged arm. The binder underneath was well worn, stained in places from almost two years of use and wear. It was also loose. Peter, keeping the amulet on, unzipped and took off the binder. His chest was flat, no scars, no damage. Just...a man's chest. He was 16, and he felt like everything had changed so quickly. The tears were still coming, and Tony was speechless.

The genius looked at Strange with amazement, with affection, with gratitude. Pepper had a hand over her mouth as she watched the situation unfold. “Stephen..." 

Tony didn't know what to say. Eventually, the genius knelt beside Peter and put an arm around him. "It's alright, son." he reassured clearly.

"You just saved my life" sobbed Peter to Strange. "You just..." He was rocking slightly as he felt at his own chest, at smooth skin over firm muscle. No pain or scars or anything. Just...just Him.

Loki was majorly confused. This must be a massive deal.

"Keep the amulet on or keep it close, it’s what binds the spell to you." Strange said in a gentle voice, because he isn't sure exactly what he's supposed to say. He isn't really... used to people being happy about what he does. Not in a long time. Not since... "If you take it off, the spell vanishes, but putting it back on will fix that. Personal use only. It won’t work on others." 

Pietro and Wanda were starting to truly believe these people might just be good people after all. Who else would do a thing like that? Wanda was also still making big eyes on Loki for his own display of magic. She wasn't alone. 

Peter traced his fingers along the flat tissue and blinked away more tears. He stood up and hugged Strange. He had no sense that this would make the doctor uncomfortable... he just had to hug him. He had to. This was everything he'd ever wanted, and now he damn well HAD IT. "Thank you" he gasped out.

Tony stood up again, watching with a smile. "He's alright" he commented regarding Strange, with a lot of happiness in his snarky tone.

The sorcerer was a bit.. stiff in the hug. But he hugged Peter back after a moment nonetheless, more of a brief pat then anything else. The kid was clearly eager about his chest, and Strange wondered how long it would be until the kid noticed other changes. Like the fact that he now had a dick and would start to grow a beard. At the same time, no more periods. 

Natasha was smiling softly at them all. “The rest of the debriefing can wait,” she said calmly, standing to leave. This meant they were pretty done here, so she quietly slipped up and tapped Clint's shoulder to get him to join.

Peter eventually let Stephen go, quickly wiping his eyes. He KNEW he had to put his shirt back on, but also hated it. Still, he figured that as his binder was pretty damaged, there was no point in trying to donate it. It would 100% be burned. He finally put on the shirt and whispered another "Thank you" before hurrying out. Anyone who came into his room in the tower later would catch him crying as he realized his entire body was HIS. He was a guy in every single sense, including physically. Of course, Ned would tell him he'd always been a man, which was true. But this was different.

Tony and Stephen were eventually left alone in the room, and Tony couldn't NOT kiss him. He had to. He pulled his partner close and kissed him for all he was worth. "You're a good man" he said between kisses. "Don't try to deny it, you're a damn good man and I don't want a word against that, so I'm preemptively telling you to shut up."

Strange pulled away enough to say “I did what anyone-”

“No. No you fucking didn’t. You just saved that kid’s life. You did a good thing, and it’s not what anyone would’ve. It’s what you did. You. I love you, Doc”

“Love you too.” And then affectionately. “Idiot.”


End file.
